This website is dedicated to providing public information regarding DePuy Hip recall and other related information to the recall. None of the information on this site is intended to be formal legal or medical advice, nor should any information on this site be construed as advice that should be used in lieu of information from your attorney or physician.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Newcastle University researchers find explanation for pain in people with metal on metal hip joints

Northern Echo

METAL ions released by failing metal-on-metal hip joints can trigger an immune response similar to that caused by bacterial infections, North-East experts have found.

Research led by Newcastle University has revealed that cobalt ions can activate a crucial component of the body’s innate immune system - known as Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4).

Like most immune responses, TLR4 activation varies between individuals which may explain why some patients have reacted more severely than others to the MoM replacement hips. This reaction by the body has led to some MoM hip replacements having to be removed.

Publishing in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the team from Newcastle University and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the research provides the first explanation for the chronic inflammation and tissue damage that is seen in some patients with failed MoM joints.

“Until now we haven’t really understood the biological process of why this was happening,” explains Dr Alison Tyson-Capper, a senior lecturer and molecular biologist at Newcastle University who led the research together with John Kirby, a Professor of Immunobiology at Newcastle University

Although it’s still early days with this research programme,” says Dr Tyson-Capper, “our study shows for the first time the cellular mechanism as to how metal ions, in this case cobalt, can induce inflammation and this may explain why some patients react more severely than others to the MoM joints. TLR4 activation is driven by our genes and varies between individuals.”

Prof Kirby adds: “The next step will be to find a way to match patients to specific prosthetic materials and consider therapeutic intervention designed to dampen down the inflammatory pathways activated by metal ions.”